Medic
by Autumn's Wind
Summary: This time a different war approaches and its attack will be of two stages: 1. kill all the medics to disable Konoha’s ability to regenerate life; 2. destroy Konoha. Everything will change. Sasuke x Sakura
1. Chapter 1

**Medic**

by Autumn's Wind**  
**

Summary: This time a different war approaches and its attack will be of two stages: 1. kill all the medics to disable Konoha's ability to heal; 2. destroy Konoha.

**1. Chapter one**

Living in a shinobi world meant conflict was always ahead. Konoha wore the scars of the war with the Earth country as well as with the Lightning country. While the reasons might have been different, the goals always shared a common trait: ambition.

A new ambition was always the start.

And now, a new plan emerged within the confines of one ambitious country. Hours were spent in a guarded office, discussing the information sent by spies melting in the shadows of Fire Country, and most importantly, Konoha. Everybody appeared to be clueless, which was definitely at their advantage. A surprise attack was always the best choice, but discretion was required 100 %, therefore, only a select group was doing the planning.

And with the installation of Tsunade as Hokage in Konohagakure, that only meant more medics were to appear, which will only be a thorn in their side.

The plan was simple.

"This is a photograph showing the uniform of a regular medic-nin." The military commander spoke "he should be your target." Some excited nins nodded. "Now that Tsunade has settled in Konoha as Hokage, she demanded more medics to be trained, or more exactly, each shinobi team to have one. You do realize the approximate number of medics, do you?" another share of nods was seen.

"And sadly, we are certainly at a disadvantage. Not only do they have the best medic in the world, but they have an entire platoon of medics as well. If we want to destroy Konoha we have to get rid of the medics first. This way, we will fight them, without them having the ability to regenerate life. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" the chorus was heard. The commander in front of them smiled appreciatively. It was easy to make them see the truth, since their country always had a 'dislike' for Fire country. This would be the perfect payback for the humiliation they had to endure years ago, when they were pushed back by the same people they wanted to destroy.

This time, he was absolutely sure history won't repeat itself.

"But there is something else you should be aware of. The Fifth had her personal apprentices, and those would be Shizune and Haruno Sakura. These are extracts we acquired from a Mist Bingo Book" he said as he threw the files to the first ninja he saw. Said ninja quickly looked over the information, and then passed it to the nearest ninja to him. "They wear no uniform to show they are medics, but they are the most powerful ones, so I would suggest you to not engage them in fight unless you are _capable_ of defeating them." He paused as he stuck his nose through other papers "Especially Haruno Sakura and the Fifth, said to have fabulous medical skills and killer strength..."

"We have already assigned ninja to deal with each of the aforementioned medics, so..." an assistant interrupted.

"Yeah, that's right..." the commander agreed "Back to our business here..." he continued as he looked up from his papers to look fiercely into every pair of eyes he found in the large room. Whether he found scared, determined, thoughtful or emotionless stares he spoke with the same fervency.

"Your job is to be done discreetly, and no mistakes are allowed, as by one single mistake you could send your own country to hell. Act like a single unit, not individually and if something of great importance for the mission occurs, speak to your team leader."

"Excuse me sir, but how can we be sure the trail we will be following isn't going to lead us to some ANBU on the guard?" a young nin asked.

"Do you know why I chose you for this mission?" the commander asked, as the soldier shook his head "Together you are more than powerful enough to face an ANBU team, plus, to clear your doubts, our spies have assured us nothing will jeopardize the mission. They are the insiders and they will 'clear' our path for us if necessary." He continued getting more and more excited by the prospect of a victory, which he so much believed in.

And he was not the irritable leader either; instead of getting angry by his soldiers' signs of doubt he was more than pleased to explain why they should not fear. He enjoyed seeing in his soldiers' eyes how their visions changed and turned from having second-thoughts, to the determined soldier who knew what he was doing. He was aware this was the only way to gain more and more people on his side. He was aware this was the only way to destroy Konohagakure.

His own eyes sparkled for one mere second. These youngsters were definitely the perfect type of soldier he needed.

* * *

Tsunade slammed her cup of sake on the table, with an appreciative sound coming from her throat.

"It's always so good to have a cup of sake after such an intense spar."

Sakura looked a little skeptical at her mentor.

"Or, in your case, shishou, a whole package..." She replied not minding the look the blonde sent her.

"Watch your mouth, young woman. I'm still your hokage..." she paused, but after a glance at the sake on the table, and a little smirk, she continued "But that's true." She admitted smugly, as if she spoke of something perfectly right "Which reminds me...I have taught everything I knew, less one thing..."

And she would have continued if it weren't for the finger Sakura raised in the air, as if to silence her. She already knew what followed.

"Let me guess..." the pink-haired kunoichi leaned a bit over the table "You want me to have a sake addiction as well? Really now, sensei. "She slumped back into her chair "As if I didn't 'inherit' enough of your bad traits..."

"It's not addiction...I just have respect for sake."

"Sure. Keep telling yourself that..."

Tsunade threw a glare at the other woman, who didn't seem to stay put, then gave up and sighed "You're so naïve." Or maybe she just changed tactics.

Sakura's temper indeed flared, as predicted, and she couldn't stop the growled "What?" from coming out of her mouth. She had been right when she spoke of the inherited things and Tsunade was amused, as she began understanding the meaning behind the nickname of 'mini-Tsunade', Jiraiya had given to her years ago.

"You don't know how great sake can be..." she couldn't help herself but provoke the younger kunoichi, thinking that this was how she, herself, looked to others.

"Speaks the great medic, herself..." Sakura rolled her eyes, as she spitefully grabbed a cup and filled it with sake "Of course I know how sake is." And as a closing part she lifted the cup to her mouth, and then slammed it, empty, on the table.

"Yeah right..."Tsunade allowed another smirk to be seen on her face "And how much can you handle?"

"Don't tell me you want a drinking spar...Look, I've got training scheduled with my team, at night, and the least I want is to feel dizzy and unable to participate, or to have a hangover in the morning, so the answer is: no." She ended crossing her arms and looking outside the window.

"You think you can escape that easily?"

"I'm not trying to escape."

"Then don't be a coward and drink with me." Tsunade demanded.

"You're not going to make me change my mind." Sakura threw her sensei a look to show just how crazy she thought she was.

Tsunade could only sigh. She knew there were things Sakura could be terribly stubborn about. Drinking apparently was one of those things.

"It's your loss then."

"Whatever."

The hokage looked at the pouting jounin front of her, with a small smile. _She isn't naïve at all_.

"You got me, today, with that genjutsu of yours." The blonde spoke as Sakura immediately wore a grin.

"Yeah...well, Kakashi taught it to me."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"So he _does_ spend more time with you...it's about time."

"Shishou, that began years ago. But its great to have him teach me, like he did to Sasuke and Naruto."

"Right. Speaking about your teammates...I heard they want to join the ANBU forces." Tsunade said, before lifting another cup of sake to her lips. The look she sent towards Sakura was a penetrating one, as this was where she wanted to get.

"That's true. Naruto wants to keep upgrading and give it a try, as does Sasuke, and Sai...I doubt he's not going to join them."

"What about you, Sakura?"

"Really, shishou, do you really see me as ANBU, as a cold-blooded assassin?" she laughed, confident in her decision "I prefer staying as elite, and helping at the hospital; I already had this talk with them, and they understood...especially Naruto who thought I was at a greater risk as ANBU...that little idiot."

Tsunade had to laugh at that, but she agreed with her former student. She couldn't see Sakura as an assassin who killed without second thoughts. She did a great job as jounin and medic at the hospital, and joining the ANBU just for the sake of following her team or trying to appear cooler and reach higher didn't suit Sakura. And the blonde was proud of her; she knew that if she ever had a daughter it would have been like Sakura.

The pink-haired woman was a rational one and knew her limits, as well as her desires, perfectly.

"Wouldn't it bother you to not be there with them?" Tsunade asked carefully.

"Yes, it would..." Sakura replied, as she allowed a concerned look on her face "Of course it would. If they get injured, I won't be there to heal them, and if they are far away, the road to our hospital might be long."

Then Sakura burst into a fit of laughing "Stupid Naruto. Worrying about my safety, when he should worry about themselves." She ended with a sad smile.

Tsunade had to smile too...then raised an eyebrow.

"And only Naruto worried about you? Jeez..."

"And why does everybody need to worry about me?"

"Your friends, Sakura..."  
"Well, beginning with my team, you know about Naruto. Kakashi came to ask me personally if I wanted to follow them, and he told me a few things about ANBU which I'm grateful for; Sai was confused at first, but then agreed with me, saying that it didn't fit me."

"And...?"

"Sasuke said 'no' from the very start, though I don't know whether it's for the fact that he thinks I'm too weak for that, or he knows me better than I'm aware of."

Sakura shrugged "It's not like I can read him like an open book, with those cold eyes of his."

Tsunade nodded, and seeing as Sakura began spacing out, she realized a change of subject was necessary. Over the time they had spent together she noticed a change in Sakura's behavior almost every time Sasuke was mentioned.

"And Ino?"  
Sakura looked at her mentor with a smile.

"Well, she was more than shocked after realizing that I could beat her easily again. I'm sure she must be training hard at this moment just to make sure I won't 'surpass' her." She giggled. Just imagining the blue-eyed blonde sweating because of a simple competition was more than enjoyable, which only showed that the same spirit was still in Sakura.

"More sake!" Tsunade yelled at the waitress, who hurried to please her hokage. The latter turned her gaze to the woman in front of her, smiling.

* * *

Sakura walked towards the training grounds, she and her team were supposed to meet on.

After Tsunade left, realizing she had a few papers to look over, she headed straight home, intending to relax her muscles, and getting ready for the training scheduled in a few hours. Taking a warm bath and doing a few exercises worked miracles for her, and as she was left with an hour of having nothing to do, she grabbed a book from her rather large library and began looking through it, with an occasional recalling of her conversation with Tsunade.

Sakura wanted to laugh, in the empty, night darkened streets, as she remembered her mentor's inquisitive questions regarding her love life. And it was all because of the flowers she received from a fellow ninja.

Tsunade was more than eager to know every detail, and as she got more and more sake into her stomach, she began threatening the pink haired ninja.

_"If you don't want me to strip you of your ninja rank and status, you better tell me everything."_

Her mentor's voice still sounded clear in her mind, and Sakura continued smiling as she got nearer to her destination, not bothering to hurry at all.

Upon reaching there, she looked agape at the scene in front of her. Naruto and Sasuke were throwing glares at each other, with one Copy-Ninja in between them, trying to calm the spirits. Judging by their ruffled and dusty clothes, they had already began without her, which didn't help calm her raging temper.

"Hello hag." Sai said from behind her. The use of her old nickname was even more irritating.

"Get lost." She replied as she began making her way towards the trio. Kakashi had already noticed her presence and nodded at her with a hidden smile.

When the other two, Naruto and Sasuke, finally noticed her there, they relaxed their positions. Sasuke waved a hand at her, and then stuffed them into his pockets, while Naruto grinned sheepishly at her.

"Hi Sakura-chan."

"Now what?"

When nobody wanted to answer she turned to Kakashi.

"Ah, nothing but a little tension released." He replied, as calm as ever, while his hand itched to his pocket where his beloved book was. Sakura saw that and glared at him.

"Now that I'm here, what are the formations today?"

"Didn't you forget someone?"

When she turned around, she saw Yamato entering the clearing. She sent an apologetic smile his way.

"Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, team one." Kakashi said as he went next to Sai and Yamato "And I, Yamato, Sai, team two."

They all nodded.

"I called you at night because we rarely train in darkness and we never know when this should come handy. Me and Yamato, trained a lot into the darkness, while in ANBU, and I'm sure Sai had something similar in ROOT."

The artist nodded.

"That leaves the three of you." He turned to Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke "You were trained like a normal ninja would: to enhance your senses and to be able to see 'almost as good as in daylight'. What I want to teach you, now, is a bit more advanced than that. In the dark you should move like a nocturnal predator, you should think like one and many other things I will show you as you progress."

"But Kakashi-sensei...we kind of know these things...I mean, we are _elite_." Naruto interrupted.

"Sure you do." Kakashi spoke as he turned to Sai and Yamato, and whispered them something. With that the three of them disappeared.

"Why was he early anyway?" Sakura asked, as she finally realized what had been amiss.

The other two shrugged.

* * *

A/N: This story is to be continued.

I would really appreciate a review on this chapter


	2. Chapter 2

**Medic**

by Autumn's Wind

Summary: This time a different war approaches and its attack will be of two stages: 1. kill all the medics to disable Konoha's ability to heal; 2. destroy Konoha.

**2. Chapter two**

"Sakura-chan…where have you been?" the blond asked her as soon as she stepped on the bridge.

"Getting here, where else?" she replied with a small smile, while checking her teammates. They appeared to be normal, not wearing ruffled clothes or dirt spots on them, which meant they actually behaved until she arrived.

"So…are you going to tell me what happened last night?"

She hoped she would get an answer to her question and she didn't miss the glances Sasuke and Naruto sent each other. She stepped between them and stared at each other with a pointed look.

"Well? I want to know why my teammates are having problems again." Her hands moved to sit on her hips, giving her the attitude she wanted.

Sasuke then looked at her from under his locks of dark hair and before she could realize it he looked away. Seeing as Naruto was petrified, he released a sigh before answering her.

"We had several contrasting opinions…"

His answer came fluidly, as expected from someone like him.

"I realized that Sasuke-kun, but I thought you guys overcame that period of useless conflicts…"

He seemed to tense a bit as he replied her again.

"It's not like that…"

She didn't know what to say next. Just when she thought she would find some peace in her team, she had to find Sasuke and Naruto fighting again and she had no idea what was the reason behind it. She, now, thought them to be two matured men, and for that particular reason she couldn't understand why they were fighting again, not just verbally.

She sighed.

"I really don't understand you."

"Sakura-chan…" he glanced at Sasuke before moving his eyes back on her "we were only…"

"Shut up…this is pointless." Sasuke interrupted him.

"Are you going to fight right in front of my eyes? I don't know what happened between the two of you but I hope you'll get this over soon, since I'm not allowed to interfere." Sakura crossed her arms and immediately looked away from them, wearing a frown on her face.

"The bastard is the one that doesn't let me. He thinks it's between the two of us." Naruto angrily pointed his finger at his dark-haired teammate, who stared him in the eye, as a proof that he didn't change his mind and as a reminder that the blond should keep his mouth shut. Having already discussed this, he followed their agreement and stopped talking.

"Alright." She looked at them and smiled upon seeing they seemed to have come to a silent agreement and there was no 'hate' in their eyes. "I assume this is just a childish quarrel between you two…after all, you were always competing and all that…" she threw a smile at them, a smile that showed her remembering of the old times.

"Come on guys…friends again?" her expression begged them. The Uchiha and the Uzumaki threw a glance at Sakura before turning to stare at each other intensely. About a minute later, after many seconds of inner battles, Naruto extended his hand towards his dark-haired teammate, which grabbed it after a few more seconds, giving a firm shake. They weren't even startled when their pink-haired comrade grabbed their shoulders to give them both a half-hug.

While Naruto was more than happy that Sakura had given him a hug –or half of it- and quickly responded to it, Sasuke appeared to be disturbed by the invasion of his private space, as contact between the two of them was usually strictly professional. The people who knew him knew he'd rather not have his personal space encroached.

Yet, he couldn't find himself to deny the affections Sakura showed towards him, from time to time. Usually, after two or three seconds he would relax and maybe even respond a bit to all.

Just like this time, when he slowly dragged his arm to sit on her shoulder as well. Sometimes, it was curious to see that Naruto wasn't the only charismatic person he knew. The other person was in his team too. Or maybe it was charismatic towards him only.

He gave up these thoughts.

-x-

When the three ninja reached the Hokage Tower, Sakura had already told them they were required to have a conversation with the woman. That was the reason for her getting late that morning. She went to the Tower first to get speak with Tsunade, when the blonde told her that trouble might fall on Konoha once again. Before she gave any more details she dispatched Sakura to get her other two teammates, in order to give them important information.

So, when the three of them stood in front of their Hokage, said Hokage began speaking.

"Though it may not seem that important or risky, I assure you this has a high importance for us, and thus, the village. I have been informed of some strange happenings in a small village, north from Konoha. It is basically a farmer village but in the past, to avoid theft, their men began training as ninja, to protect their harvest. But their village is not a powerful military force. Their ninja were mostly trained the basics of our jobs." She took a pause to look through a scroll once again.

"Some of their best ninja appear to have abandoned the village with no apparent reason. Sure, one or two left a note to their family explaining how they were in search of new adventures and all that bullshit but I don't believe it all, neither do others."

"Yet, it could be possible for them to leave just like that if they weren't attached to their family or…" Sakura interrupted, not quite understanding what her mentor was trying to say.

"That may be so for one or two of them. But what leads me to believe that there were other reasons behind their 'disappearance' is that all those ninja left within short intervals, a week at most. Why would ten of a village's strongest shinobi leave like that? Perhaps it could even be said the strongest shinobi in that village, considering the fact that it is quite small and not so advanced."  
The other three didn't speak as they contemplated their leader's words. It was strange for someone to leave like that, and then to be followed by the other strongest shinobi, leaving the village potentially vulnerable.

"Are you trying to say that you fear that village might be attacked in this condition?" Sakura asked.

Tsunade frowned.

"I don't think the target is that small, farmer village."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked a bit loudly, which earned him a glare from both the Hokage and Sasuke, who then stared back at the woman.

"This village isn't the only one who was left without some of its best fighters. A village had three of their best shinobi leave just like this, while another one had one, and the best leave. How do you explain this?"

"I don't know, but it may be possible that they are gathering somewhere." Sakura replied, giving the problem more turns in her head.

"Or, more exactly, be gathered by someone." Sasuke gave his own response.

"Exactly." Tsunade shouted, slamming her hand on the desk, and then leaning over it to look more intensely at the three.

"Why would somebody want to gather ninja, this time?" Naruto wondered, his disagreement shown on his face. This question made everyone else turn to look at him, then at Tsunade. They had their own theories, obviously, but somehow the feeling that this time they were wrong, and something much tricky was happening, was slowly passing from a ninja to another. The atmosphere, the contrast between Tsunade's intense look and, sometimes, her distant gaze, spoke heavily of the gravity of the situation.

"Don't forget the world we live in, Naruto. As long as we are humans and, most importantly, shinobi trouble like this will always come. "

"Do you know who is behind all this?" Sakura asked.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you. I've sent a recon team and I hope to get more information from them."  
"That means you're going to send us too?" Naruto asked hopefully, with eyes having a specific gleam in them.

Tsunade glared.

"Do you have any special skills to do reconnaissance properly?"

Naruto closed his mouth for a few seconds before opening it again only to admit his lack of skills in that area and to persuade his Hokage even more "I guess not…but still…"

"Shut up. We have shinobi born to be trackers and so on. That's why I've sent team 8 and Kakashi."

'What…Kakashi?" Naruto yelled. Kakashi was considered part of the team and of course, leaving on a mission, while Naruto still didn't get one made Naruto more than jealous.

"He left early today." Tsunade replied seeing Naruto fuming. "Now…until we receive more information about this situation I need you to stay in the village." Seeing as Sakura tried her best to calm Naruto, which eventually caused him to earn a punch from her, she hurried to continue "You are very important to this village. Your team is one of the best that I have; we need you to stay in the village. This whole ordeal of someone making an army looks dangerous to me. "

"But, have they made an appearance or something?" Sakura asked.

"Not yet. But this whole thing smells fishy. I don't like it, neither my advisors."  
"So, you fear that Konoha might be attacked or something…" Sasuke spoke.

"We can't be sure. What annoys me is that this happens in the Fire Country. The whole area of disappearances revolves around the north and now we're trying to locate their position. That's why I need you to stay in the village. I've deployed several good shinobi away from Konoha and I can't afford leaving the village unprotected when there is an army who knows where, even if their target isn't our Konoha."

The others nodded. Even Naruto understood the implication of his Hokage's words.

"Fine."

"Do you need anything else, master?" Sakura politely asked, giving a pointed looks to Naruto.

All this exchange was not missed to Sasuke as he himself felt like strangling the blond man, sometimes. But most times, all he did was frown, glare or sigh. This time, he sighed. Not just because of his teammate but because he felt a bit relieved to stay in the village. He enjoyed taking a break from time to time, though this stay in the village was more like a mission, considering the recent events. That meant to never let his guard down, which was not a hard thing to do. He was always careful.

"Just stay alert and be ready for anything that might occur. Understood?"

They nodded again.

-x-

Due to a blond haired teammate's persuasion, Sasuke and Sakura found themselves at Ichiraku's ramen stand once again.

"I assume Sai and Yamato left too." Sakura broke the silence. Naruto's eyes grew wide.

"You're right. I haven't seen them."

"Can't a man have a break from you two?" Sasuke more like asked, playing the indifferent as always.

"I don't see you taking a break." Sakura replied back with a tiny smirk.

"Tch." He turned away.

Sakura giggled. "Sorry."

"Yeah. You must have grown tired of always picking on me." Naruto slyly interfered "You're the lucky man, now Sasuke." He continued chuckling unaware of the two glares positioned on his head, until a hand hit him in the head.

"S-Sakura-chan..." he whined, making Sakura 'forgive' him, as she resumed eating. He did not miss the tiny smile that tugged on her lips and which she fought hard to hide. Seeing this he smiled too, and then began laughing without an apparent reason. It was then that his contagious laughter was spread to Sakura too, who broke into a big smile, then a fit of giggles.

Sasuke was the only sober one, looking at his other two teammates as though they were crazy, ending up with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Did you forget what the Hokage said?" he asked behind his crossed hands.

Sakura was the first one to stop and realize her mistake.

Naruto, on the other hand, didn't give up that easily and with a frown on his face turned to Sasuke.

"I don't see why I shouldn't have a little fun. Besides, it's not like we're attacked at this exact moment. Granny Tsunade told us to be ready just in case something bad happens, that's all."

Sasuke huffed.

"What? You're jealous?" Naruto continued. Sakura froze.

"Shut up." Sasuke closed his eyes, leaving the hint that the conversation was to be over. Naruto didn't acknowledge that, but on the contrary; he was determined to realize what the dark-haired man was thinking, no matter what.

"Or what?" he stood up abruptly. Sakura stood as well turning to glare at him.

"Why don't you try to _not_ pick a fight?"

Surprisingly enough, Naruto ignored her. He passed by her and, by reaching his friend's stool, he grabbed Sasuke by the shirt, lifting him up.

"Say it." he growled.

"I have nothing to say." The Uchiha didn't try to move and stood perfectly still in Naruto's hold. This only annoyed the blond even more as he shook the dark-haired man.

"Say it!"

Sakura tried to prevent a future fight.

"Guys…stop it…" when they continued to ignore her she used her strength to break Naruto's hold and placed herself in between. "What is the matter with you two?" With one hand on each of her friends' shoulders she kept them at a safe distance while glancing at each one in hopes of finding a clue. Naruto was visibly raging, while Sasuke's face wasn't that expressionless, as she could see just how annoyed he was.

"Naruto…Sasuke?" her head moved from left to right and then back to the right as she stared at Sasuke. It was then that he chose to look back at her, and pulling out some money from his pocket he slammed them on the table, all the while looking into her eyes. When he finally looked away from her, his eyes shifted towards Naruto, who seemed to have calmed down.

Then, he wordlessly turned away and began walking in the direction of his apartment.

"S-Sasuke…" his female friend tried to call, and he stopped in his steps. He turned his head towards the pink-haired woman, then towards the blond-haired man, appearing to want to say something. Turning his head back on the road he left with a simple "Nevermind".

"That bastard…" Naruto spoke as he crossed his arms. His eyes were still locked on the road Sasuke took when Sakura shook his arm.

"What was all that about? I really don't understand."

He looked at her, noting her confused expression. It was mostly the fact that she wasn't violent that surprised him. _She must have felt something was different this time._

He just smiled at her. "If you, the smartest in the team, can't understand, how could _I_?" He chuckled when he saw her smiling.

"Don't worry."

"Yeah yeah…I have to go to the hospital. See you!" She waved her hand at him before disappearing out of his sight.

When she reached the hospital she flopped into an armchair, sighing. It felt tiring each time those two had a fight, but their recent fights were based on something they didn't want to share with her.

She wasn't stupid. Naruto was trying to tell her something that morning but Sasuke quickly interrupted. They were hiding something and it was getting more and more frustrating for her to be left in the dark.

But she couldn't just go and make them tell her. She wanted to make a wise decision and that's why she chose to let them tell her themselves; if they were ever going to tell her…

* * *

A / N : I apologize for the tardiness...inspiration had just recently struck me and I really hope you liked this chapter.

Reviews are much appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Medic**

By Autumn's Wind

Summary: This time a different war approaches and its attack will be of two stages: 1. kill all the medics to disable Konoha's ability to heal; 2. destroy Konoha.

**3. Chapter three**

The Hokage's office was filled with tension, as the great leader of Konoha read the numerous scrolls on her desk again, trying to understand an enemy's movements. Message has been received from Kakashi's team recently, stating that the unknown army was nowhere to be seen, which didn't help her temper.

An army roaming around the country freely was a great danger to the village, especially when no one knew of their intentions and interests.

Sakura was there too, trying her best to help her mentor. And her company did in a way help said mentor. Now that there was a second mind trying to see through the mystery and also a company, Tsunade was much more able to do her job.

"I'm afraid we don't have enough information, Tsunade-sama. I mean…all we know is that someone gathers ninja and that they have been spotted two times near two villages in the north. We can't find an algorithm to their movement and this makes it nearly impossible to prevent a possible threat. I don't know…" Sakura placed the scroll she looked through on the desk and looked into the woman's eyes "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault…" Tsunade released a sigh and leaned back in her chair, looking outside the large windows behind her. The view she had over the village was astounding, though not as great as that from the mountain. "I'm sorrier for not being able to get more information. Maybe I should have made more contacts outside. Apparently the ones I have are not enough in a situation like this…" She turned her back to Sakura, to face the village she was the leader of. Even the fact that she was its leader made it hard for her.

"Team 8 hadn't sent anything, right?" The green-eyed woman asked, though it was a useless question. When she didn't get any response she turned grimmer and moved towards the door to silently leave the room and her Hokage in her contemplation. When she opened the door she said one last thing "I'll ask for Shizune to come here…"  
But her offer was rejected by Tsunade who asked to be left alone. Sakura didn't oppose to her decision.

-x-

Night came slower than usual. But when it came it didn't make things easier. There was no calm before the storm. It was the tension and feeling of inability that everyone who was aware of the danger felt. It was the incapacity…

Even sleep was coming slower than usual. Before she was finally able to fall asleep, Sakura twisted and crumbled the sheets on the bed. Unfortunately, her sleep was interrupted by Sasuke who puffed in her room. The instant he appeared, Sakura lifted her torso and turned to look at him, having already had her guard up.

"They are here." He merely stated the facts. The green-eyed woman stared at him in confusion around two seconds, before realizing the meaning of his words. Not bothering to change her clothes, she merely grabbed a light coat, and after putting it on she went next to Sasuke.

"Hokage Tower?"

He nodded, before disappearing from sight, followed closely by Sakura.

By reaching Tsunade's office, she saw Naruto was already there, together with a few jounin, one or two of which she knew.

"An unknown person was caught placing an explosive tag on the back of a house. Unfortunately, it was just a clone and we couldn't get anything from him. This is why I'll have you patrol around the village. I've already sent some ninja patrolling, but I want to raise vigilance." Tsunade spoke, as soon as the ninja in her office were finished with their greetings.

But, just as she was about to say more, a summoning appeared next to her desk, carrying a scroll.

"There has been an unknown ninja near the hospital, with explosive tags in their hands. Another one was spotted near the market, and apparently a civilian was killed."

"They're too silent…" Sakura whispered.

"Yes. That's why you need to be very alert. Search in any alley and corner of the streets. They cannot escape now. Pay attention to the civilians…"

As everyone understood their mission, they departed and spread around the village.

Of course, the search would be easier for someone like Sasuke, who had a bloodline limit perfect for seeing the flow of chakra in one person, and therefore could notice if there was a chakra nearby.

But as Sakura had to follow her instructions she had to do her best, without having a special technique.

All she had to do was concentrate on her surroundings, in order to see if there was anything suspicious out there. The quiet streets were helping her a lot, though she would have preferred to have either Naruto or Sasuke by her side.

She kept walking for a good ten minutes, pushing away all thoughts, but the ones regarding her mission.

"Naruto, Sasuke." she eventually called through her radio a few minutes later "Did you find something?"

"Nope." the blonde's voice was heard followed by a low "no" from Sasuke.

"Me neither…" she replied, ending the short conversation.

She didn't know exactly what happened, but to her the village looked as normal as it always did. There was, of course, a certain tension going around the ninja but that was normal too, considering the threat that could be looming over them.

Reaching a crossroad, she turned left, which unfortunately for her lead her to a trap. Kunai and shuriken emerged, apparently, out of nowhere but thanks to her medical ninja training she easily ducked them all.

Now she was even tenser.

"I came across a trap." she communicated through her radio, as she eyed her surroundings warily.

"What?"

"Where?"

Her two teammates demanded of her, one incredulous, the other furious.

"I am near the area held by the Nara clan. Stick to your mission. If something else happens I'll call you." she responded.

"Okay. Take care Sakura-chan."

"You heard him."

A smile tugged on her lips.

She put her gloves on and grabbing a kunai from her pouch she resumed her patrol, but not before taking a kunai and a shuriken for later examination and examining the trap itself.

She was slightly startled when a fellow jounin, a Hyuuga, appeared next to her, looking around as well.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded, still staring at him as she couldn't recognize him. But there were many Hyuuga she couldn't recognize.

"The nin went this way." he said as he made a sign with his head for her to follow him. She understood his action. He wanted assistance in pursuing the ninja, maybe even fighting him.

"Byakugan!" he said, pushing his senses like only a Hyuuga could. The two of them sped through the streets of Konoha, reaching no sooner one of the training grounds on the edge of the village. That was when she saw someone disappearing through the bushes too.

The foreign ninja had his escape path blocked as the two leaf ninjas appeared in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" the Hyuuga asked. The nin carried on being silent.

"If you don't want to speak to us, perhaps you would love a little interrogation with one of our best…"

Seeing as they received no replies, Sakura ran towards him with a fist ready. He was able to dodge at the last moment, disappearing in the shadows once again.

"This way." the Hyuuga said, going after the nin. She followed closely behind him and they caught up with the nin once again. This time, he wasn't able to run away again.

After being immobilized, Sakura and the Hyuuga knelt down next to the ninja.

"Who is behind all this." her companion asked.

The ninja turned into a log.

"Another one?" Sakura incredulously asked, as she stood up.

"This was a replacement, but still.." the Hyuuga replied, standing up as well.

"All the ninjas we've encountered so far were clones…we never came across the original…" Sakura said "this only leads me to conclude they only sent their clones to do their job here, whatever their job may be…"

"Yeah…you're right. Report this to the Hokage; I'll continue patrolling."

She nodded, fleeing towards the Tower, where her mentor was most likely discussing the plans. In less than a minute she was standing in front of her office's door, with a thumping heart. Taking a deep breath she knocked on the door and slowly opened it.

"Haruno Sakura here to report." she stated, once she closed the door. Inside Tsunade's office she saw Shikamaru and two other tacticians, whose names she couldn't remember, Tsunade herself and lots of papers sprawled on her desk.

"What news do you have Sakura?"

"The enemy has only sent clones in the village. Everytime we try to subdue the ninja we encounter they simply disappear. But the originals must be somewhere around the village."

"Very good, Sakura. Go find Naruto and Sasuke and come back here with them."

Once she went outside she tried to locate her teammates through the radio, but she had to go further into the village for that. She tried once again and this time she managed to connect with their radios.

"Naruto, Sasuke."

"I'm right here, Sakura-chan."

"Yes?"

"We need to go to the Hokage Tower. Tsunade requires our presence. Come to the hospital, I'll be waiting for you."

"Got it."

And so she was left to wait all alone. But as she looked at one of the hospital's windows she saw a suspicious sight. She just saw a suspiciously sharp object flying across the room, passing by the window. Wasting no time she made a quick jump towards the window and upon reaching there she saw one of the nurses in the hospital in a pool of blood. She gasped as soon as she came across the sight and knelt down next to the young medic to take her pulse. Unfortunately the hit was perfectly landed and the medic instantaneously died.

Sakura released a shaky sigh and rose to her feet, all the while looking around her. The kunai she saw flying came from the entrance of the hospital and she assumed the killer was just getting inside the hospital.

"Sakura. You said you'll be waiting for us."

Sasuke's voice broke her concentration.

"Oh. I'm sorry guys. I'm in the hospital. A nurse got killed…"

"What? We're coming straight there!"

The conversation ended with Naruto's promise. Knowing that they will catch up before she could blink twice she resumed walking down the hallway and checking every room she came across. One or two rooms had their patients resting on the beds, with a continuous beeping filling the silence of the room. The hospital was being a bit too silent.

Going to the receptionist desk she saw no one standing there, but something led her around the desk until she saw the lifeless body under it.

"What is going on?"

The thought that there might not be any personal in the whole hospital made her insides turn to ice for a long second. If that was the case it was a smart move coming from the enemy, to disable any medical services.

She turned around, studying the empty hallway with her eyes and her body immediately tensed when she saw someone approaching her fast and silently.

"Sakura-san" hearing her name being whispered by one of the medics she worked with a few times calmed her body as she moved to meet him.

"What is happening?"

The fellow medic seemed panted and continuously looked behind him.

"They are killing all the medics and personal in the hospital. I've seen it with my own eyes…"

The feeling of dread encompassed Sakura once again. She began throwing glances around her again.

"B-but….Are you alright?" she asked him placing a hand on his shoulder. He smiled at her shaking his head.

"I'm fine. I escaped just in time. But we shouldn't stay here any longer. We should tell the others and…."

"Don't worry. That's why I'm here. My teammates will arrive shortly and…just get out of here…"

The male medic moved to the exit just as the form of Sasuke, then Naruto appeared, bewildered at seeing the dead bodies. Sakura motioned them to come towards her faster but as silent as possible.

"Somebody is killing all the medics." she whispered "Come." She went off before seeing the expressions her teammates wore, one of anger and concern and the other hard to classify.

"I'll take the lead from here." Sasuke said before going in front of them, eyes red from his Sharingan. Neither of his teammates said anything else, seeing and sensing that he was more than serious about this matter. It wasn't long before he whispered back at them the location of the ones they tracked "One on the second floor and another one is trying to escape…" the rest was left unspoken as he suddenly ran to catch the fugitive ninja. Naruto and Sakura understood it was their task to catch the other one on the second floor. The pink haired kunoichi had an additional task: healing any survivors.

In less than a minute they reached the second floor and their target who was just about to target someone else, who seemed oblivious to the threat.

"Move out of the way!" a masculine yell broke the silence making the young nurse shriek and stick herself to the wall farthest away from her assailant. Sakura immediately reached her to check if she was alright, as Naruto engaged in a fight with the unknown ninja who was desperately trying to defend himself and find a way out too.

Throwing another glance at her teammate who seemed to be winning, she then looked around to see if there were any losses among the hospital staff. They were lucky it was night and not day, as the staff was reduced during nightshift. If her count was correct the number of victims reached ten by now and she hoped it would stay that way.

But she didn't consider the fact that she might be the next victim and the kunai that grazed her arm made sure to put that in her mind. She was lucky she had sensed it approaching as the damage could have been worse than that. She quickly turned around to face her opponent but saw no one else but Naruto and the, finally, captured nin. The blond had an apologetic smile on his face and that was all she needed to conclude that the kunai came from the nin as a last strike in a moment Naruto was concentrating on the two of them only.

Sakura wanted to call him idiot but changed her mind thinking that her friend was already feeling guilty.

"Sorry…" he said as he came towards her with the unconscious nin. In that moment Sasuke appeared next to them as well.

"These two were apparently the only ones." he said to them as his red eyes checked the flow of the enemy nin.

"Where is the other one?" Sakura asked. "He's being taken to the Hokage tower." he replied looking over Sakura and taking note of the cut on her arm.

Then, as he moved towards the exit he stopped next to Sakura, leaning a bit towards her ear. "You may want to watch your back from now on. You're a medic too." At that she turned her head to look up at him in confusion "Most of them only concentrate on their training as medics. That doesn't mean I…I…"

She stopped talking when seeing the look of irritation that crossed Sasuke's face.

"You're a lot more skilled than most medics. You should know that if they are targeted, the strongest ones will need stronger ninja to defeat them…"

And with that he departed leaving her glued to the ground with feelings she could not comprehend. Naruto, having witnessed the whole strange exchange went to her, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know what he said to you, but looking at your face I can see that…Nevermind…whatever bad things he said to you don't forget that, even if he's a bit of a jerk when it comes to other people's feelings, he cares for us."

In fact, he hadn't insulted her at all. Naruto's words only strengthened her belief that he merely warned her of the possible dangers awaiting her. She understood that her level of defense and combat skills was higher than most of the medics' in Konoha, as she is mostly a field medic. Tsunade herself had taught her how to defend herself and fight back when there is need to and that has increased her combat level. So, if someone planned to leave Konoha without medics, they had to use ninja with a level high enough to defeat herself, even Tsunade, though she couldn't quite imagine the busty blonde being defeated in a battle.

Naruto was right. Sasuke cared for them despite how his way of addressing them may show the contrary.

Looking back at Naruto she offered him one of her brightest smile and thanked him for not letting her forget.

* * *

A/N: I apologize it's been two months since my last update but I didn't have much inspiration for the next chapter.

I want to thank everyone who stuck with this story. I love your reviews and I hope I will still receive some ^^

My story may contain some grammatical errors because English is not my mother language, so I apologize for those too. I don't have a beta but if anyone wants to take this job I will agree, as long as he or she knows English better than me.

I'll try to update sooner this time.


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